Will a Militarized Police Force Facing Occupy Wall Street Lead to Another Kent State Massacre?
http://www.alternet.org/rights/155270/will_a_militarized_police_force_facing_occupy_wall_street_lead_to_another_kent_state_massacre/_640x459_310x220
Today is an ugly anniversary in American history: 42 years ago, National Guardsman opened fire on anti-Vietnam protesters at Ohios Kent State University, killing four students. Ten days later, Mississippi police fired on civil rights protesters taking refuge in a womens dormitory at Jackson State University and killed two more students.
Four decades later, as police across the country deploy paramilitary tactics developed for fighting foreign terrorists on Occupy and some May Day protests, and as campus police ratchet up responses to tuition hike protests, we must ask, is this where things inevitably are headedtoward deadly confrontations between overly armed police and angered protesters, or just as likely, innocent bystanders caught in a crossfire?
Some of us lived through the Kent State shootings, anti-war protests and assassinations of that era. We also cannot forget the student strikes after the Kent and Jackson State killings that shut down universities and colleges. We are uneasy about a paramilitary police force's escalating tactics as Occupy protests continue into 2012.
malthaussen
(17,065 posts)When the time comes, how many of the police/military will open fire, and will they open fire? So far, the PTB seem to be happy with their "non-lethal" methods of crowd control. Unless the Occupy movement becomes considerably more threatening, I think it likely the question may not arise.
Best-case scenario would be for the police to suffer a "loss of discipline" similar to how the army of the USSR reacted in 1991. Based on their actions so far, I don't see this happening.
But it's an indeterminate question. Time alone will tell. Alas, history tells us that the PTB do not loose their stranglehold on the helots without bloodshed.
-- Mal
tech3149
(4,452 posts)I'm old enough to have lived through those painful days but I think too many have no knowledge of the times or have forgotten how we got there.
The upcoming years will as tough or tougher that we can imagine. I think the only hope is being able to speak to and convince those police and military that we are all in the same boat, don't shoot holes in it.
2pooped2pop
(5,420 posts)which is why we owe them so much praise for being on our front lines so to speak.
with the infiltration of infiltrators causing violence, I will point out that they are currently setting the stage to use heavy violence against us. The public will remain on their side if they can show how cough cough violent the occuoiers are.
"we had to shoot them" they will say and only we will know that it was all set up.